Reactive surfactants in heterophase polymerization. VI. Synthesis and screening of polymerizable surfactants (surfmers) with varying reactivity in high solids styrene—butyl acrylate—acrylic acid emulsion polymerization

Several polymerizable surfactants (surfmers) have been used in the semi-continuous emulsion copolymerization of styrene, butyl acrylate, and acrylic acid. Three of the (anionic) surfmers (sodium 11-crotonoyl undecan-1-yl sulfate, sodium 11-methacryloyl undecan-1-sulfate, and sodium sulfopropyl tetradecyl maleate) were prepared in house with purities between 53 and 82%. Physicochemical properties such as the critical micelle concentration, the adsorption isotherm, and the specific adsorption area were determined. The surfmers were then used with constant addition profiles in semicontinuous reactions, and the instantaneous conversions of the main monomers determined. The particle size, amount of coagulum, surface tension, and stability against electrolyte solutions of the latices were evaluated. Films were cast of some of the latices, and the visual appearance and water adsorption were assessed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 183–1820, 1997     

TET3- and OGT-Dependent Expression of Genes Involved in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Endometrial Cancer

TET3 is a member of the TET (ten-eleven translocation) proteins family that catalyzes the conversion of the 5-methylcytosine into 5-hydroxymethylcytosine. TET proteins can also affect chromatin modifications and gene expression independently of their enzymatic activity via interactions with other proteins. O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT), the enzyme responsible for modification of proteins via binding of N-acetylglucosamine residues, is one of the proteins whose action may be dependent on TET3. Here, we demonstrated that in endometrial cancer cells both TET3 and OGT affected the expression of genes involved in epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), i.e., FOXC1, TWIST1, and ZEB1. OGT overexpression was caused by an increase in TWIST1 and ZEB1 levels in HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells, which was associated with increased O-GlcNAcylation of histone H2B and trimethylation of H3K4. The TET3 had the opposite effect on gene expressions and histone modifications. OGT and TET3 differently affected FOXC1 expression and the migratory potential of HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells. Analysis of gene expressions in cancer tissue samples from endometrial cancer patients confirmed the association between OGT or TET3 and EMT genes. Our results contribute to the knowledge of the role of the TET3/OGT relationship in the complex mechanism supporting endometrial cancer progression.     

Electrical Properties of Sputter-deposited ZrO2-based Pt/ZrO2/Si Capacitors

Pt/ZrO2/Si sandwich structures where ZrO2 is deposited by radio frequency （r.f.） magnetron sputtering using a Zr target in an atmosphere of O2/Ar gas mixture, were fabricated and the effects of the O2/Ar flow ratio in the reactive sputtering process, the annealing temperature, the ZrO2 film thickness on the structure, the surface roughness of ZrO2 films and the electric properties of Pt/ZrO2/Si metal-oxide-semiconductor （MOS） capacitors were investigated. The optimum process parameters of the Pt/ZrO2/Si capacitor based on reactively sputtered-ZrO2 determined in such a way as the capacitance is maximized and the leakage current, the oxide charge, and the interface trap density are minimized that is the O2/Ar flow ratio of 1.5, the annealing temperature of 800℃, and the film thickness of 10 nm. Also the conduction mechanism in the Pt/ZrO2/Si capacitor has been discussed.     

A Lagrangean Approach to Network Design Problems

Network design is a very important issue in the area of telecommunications and computer networks, where there is a large need for construction of new networks. This is due to technological development (fiber optics for telecommunication) and new ways of usage (Internet for computer networks). Optimal design of such networks requires formulation and solution of new optimization models. In this paper, we formulate several fixed charge network design models, capacitated or uncapacitated, directed or undirected, possibly with staircase costs, and survivability requirements. We propose a common solution approach for all these problems, based on Lagrangean relaxation, subgradient optimization and primal heuristics, which together form a Lagrangean heuristic. The Lagrangean heuristic can be incorporated into a branch-and-bound framework, if the exact optimal solution must be found. The approach has been tested on problems of various structures and sizes, and computational results are presented.     

Identification of Tumor Antigens in Ovarian Cancers Using Local and Circulating Tumor-Specific Antibodies

Ovarian cancers include several disease subtypes and patients often present with advanced metastatic disease and a poor prognosis. New biomarkers for early diagnosis and targeted therapy are, therefore, urgently required. This study uses antibodies produced locally in tumor-draining lymph nodes (ASC probes) of individual ovarian cancer patients to screen two separate protein microarray platforms and identify cognate tumor antigens. The resulting antigen profiles were unique for each individual cancer patient and were used to generate a 50-antigen custom microarray. Serum from a separate cohort of ovarian cancer patients encompassing four disease subtypes was screened on the custom array and we identified 28.8% of all ovarian cancers, with a higher sensitivity for mucinous (50.0%) and serous (40.0%) subtypes. Combining local and circulating antibodies with high-density protein microarrays can identify novel, patient-specific tumor-associated antigens that may have diagnostic, prognostic or therapeutic uses in ovarian cancer.     

Dissimilarity of the oxidations of rapeseed and butter oil triacylglycerols and their mixtures in the absence of tocopherols

Although fatty acid composition is the most important attribute used to control oxidation stability, all edible oils are affected by lipid oxidation irrespective of whether they are highly unsaturated or not. The aim of the study was to compare the oxidation of rapeseed oil (RO) and butter oil (BO) triacylglycerols (TAGs) and their mixtures containing 10% or 20% of the other. Oxidation of the TAGs at 40°C was followed by formation of primary and secondary products. Statistical methods were used to interpret the data. The RO and BO TAGs and their mixtures began to oxidise without any induction periods. In the RO TAGs more hydroperoxides and p‐anisidine reactive compounds were formed than in the BO TAGs. The BO TAGs oxidised more than would be expected by their fatty acid composition. High susceptibility of BO TAGs to oxidation was caused by the easy breakdown of their hydroperoxides. Heptadienal and heptenal were specific products of oxidised RO TAGs and heptanal and nonenal of oxidised BO TAGs. Mixtures of RO and BO TAGs behaved according to which was dominant in the mixture. However, as little as 10% of RO or BO TAG introduced its specific oxidation products to the mixture. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

Alleviating mechanical degradation of hexacyanoferrate via strain locking during Na+insertion/extraction for full sodium ion battery

Generation of large strains upon Na+intercalation is one of the prime concerns of the mechanical degradation of Prussian blue(PB)and its analogs.Structural cons...     

Mutations That Affect the Surface Expression of TRPV6 Are Associated with the Upregulation of Serine Proteases in the Placenta of an Infant

Recently, we reported a case of an infant with neonatal severe under-mineralizing skeletal dysplasia caused by mutations within both alleles of the TRPV6 gene. One mutation results in an in frame stop codon (R₅₁₀stop) that leads to a truncated, nonfunctional TRPV6 channel, and the second in a point mutation (G₆₆₀R) that, surprisingly, does not affect the Ca²⁺ permeability of TRPV6. We mimicked the subunit composition of the unaffected heterozygous parent and child by coexpressing the TRPV6 G₆₆₀R and R₅₁₀stop mutants and combinations with wild type TRPV6. We show that both the G₆₆₀R and R₅₁₀stop mutant subunits are expressed and result in decreased calcium uptake, which is the result of the reduced abundancy of functional TRPV6 channels within the plasma membrane. We compared the proteomic profiles of a healthy placenta with that of the diseased infant and detected, exclusively in the latter two proteases, HTRA1 and cathepsin G. Our results implicate that the combination of the two mutant TRPV6 subunits, which are expressed in the placenta of the diseased child, is responsible for the decreased calcium uptake, which could explain the skeletal dysplasia. In addition, placental calcium deficiency also appears to be associated with an increase in the expression of proteases.